Vietnamese Minister of Defence General Ngo Xuan Lich and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu signed a roadmap for bilateral military cooperation during 2018-2020 on April 4.

The signing took place following the meeting between the two ministers on the sidelines of the 7th Moscow Conference on International Security.

At the meeting, Minister Lich extolled the level of technical-military collaboration between the two nations.

Following the Russian minister’s official visit to Vietnam in January, Russia had sent a Pacific Fleet rescue boat to Vietnam to hold joint exercises for search and rescue operations. A Russian delegation also visited Vietnam to discuss a draft agreement on the search for submarines in distress.

Minister Lich also took the occasion to thank his Russian counterpart for granting scholarships for Vietnamese students to pursue studying at Russian military schools.

For his part, the Russian minister expressed his delight over the sound bilateral collaboration in science and technology, hoping that regular meetings between leaders of the two defence ministries will help bolster the traditional collaborative ties.

Minister Lich and the Vietnamese delegation also held sidelines meetings with military delegations from Laos and Cambodia.

The 7th Moscow Conference on International Security is taking place in Moscow, Russia during April 4-5, attracting the participation of more than 850 representatives from 95 countries and territories worldwide, including 30 defence ministers.

The conference focuses on the defeat of terrorists in Syria and security issues facing Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The use of “soft power” as a tool to pursue military-political objectives is also on the agenda.

On April 5, the Vietnamese Defence Minister is scheduled to make an important speech, which will highlight emerging challenges and security threats in Asia Pacific, and the need to enhance multilateral cooperation to deal with those challenges.